The Treasury of Lives

Khenpo Pema Vajra (mkhan po pad+ma badz+ra) was born in the Rudam region of Kham. His date of birth is not known, but seems to have been in the first decade of the nineteenth century; according to Wangchen Dargye (dbang chen dar rgyas) he was born toward the end of the thirteenth sexagenary cycle (i.e., before 1807), while Tendzin Lungtok Nyima (bstan 'dzin lung rtogs nyi ma) has it that his birth occurred early in the fourteenth cycle. His family, known as Kangtsa (rkang tsha), traced its ancestry to the Mukpo clan of Ling (gling smug po ldong), one of the original tribes of Tibet.

Entering Dzogchen Monastery at a young age, the young Pema Vajra began by mastering the various ritual practices, before going on to study sutra and mantra texts with a number of prolific teachers, including the Fourth Dzogchen, Mingyur Namkhai Dorje (rdzogs chen 04 mi 'gyur nam mkha'i rdo rje, 1793-1870), Jigme Gyelwai Nyugu ('jigs med rgyal ba'i myu gu, 1765-1842), Gyelse Zhenpen Taye (rgyal sras gzhan phan mtha' yas, 1800-1855/1869), Patrul Orgyen Jigme Chokyi Wangpo (dpal sprul o rgyan ‘jigs med chos kyi dbang po, 1808-1887) and Sengtruk Pema Tashi (seng phrug pad+ma bkra shis, d.u.). The biographies also tell us that he had a vision of Jigme Lingpa ('jigs med gling pa, c.1730-1798) during this time in which he received a transmission of secret Nyingtik, or “heart-essence” teachings. Eventually he came to be regarded as an incarnation of the Nyingma scholar Zurchen Choying Rangdrol (zur chen chos dbyings rang grol, 1604-1669).

For the early part of his teaching career, Pema Vajra served as an abbot at the Śrī Siṃha College (shrI sing+ha bshad grwa) in Dzogchen Monastery, where he established a tradition of expounding the Guhyagarbha Tantra, which he passed on to a number of eminent students, including Purtsa Khenpo Akon (phur rtsa mkhan po a dkon, c.1837-c.1897), Orgyen Tendzin Norbu (o rgyan bstan 'dzin nor bu, d.u.), Jamgon Mipam Namgyel ('jam mgon mi pham rnam rgyal, 1846-1912) and Konchok Drakpa (dkon mchog grags pa, b.c. 1830), the fifteenth abbot of Śrī Siṃha.

Later in life he resided mainly at Pemai Tang (padma'i thang), near Dzogchen Monastery, where he continued to teach and bestow empowerments. It was here that he gave the empowerment of the Sutra That Gathers Intentions (dgongs pa'i 'dus pa mdo), the main Anuyoga empowerment tradition, to Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo ('jam dbyangs mkhyen brtse'i dbang po, 1820-1892) in 1857. Among his other important disciples were Adzom Drukpa Drodul Pawo Dorje (a 'dzoms 'brug pa 'gro 'dul dpa' bo rdo rje, 1842-1924), to whom he passed on the transmissions of Lama Yangtik (bla ma yang tig), Terton Sogyel Lerab Lingpa (gter ston bsod rgyal las rab gling pa, 1856-1926), Third Dodrubchen Jigme Tenpai Nyima (rdo grub chen 03 'jigs med bstan pa'i nyi ma, 1865-1926) and the Fourth Shechen Gyeltsab, Gyurme Pema Namgyel (zhe chen rgyal tshab 04 'gyur med pad+ma rnam rgyal, 1871-1926). He was also a teacher of the Fifth Dzogchen, Tubten Chokyi Dorje (rdzogs chen 05 thub bstan chos kyi rdo rje, 1872-1935) and Fifth Shechen Rabjam, Pema Tekchok Tenpai Gyeltsen (rab 'byams 05 padma theg mchog bstan pa'i rgyal mtshan, 1864-1909). He received transmissions from Jamgon Kongtrul at Dzongsar Monastery in 1872.

Of the original six volumes of his collected writings, only two have survived. They include a brief overview of the Abhisamayālaṃkāra; two recitation manuals for the Longchen Nyingtik practice of Avalokiteśvara, Natural Liberation of Suffering (sdug bsngal rang grol); notes on the Guhyagarbha Tantra; and a famous response to criticisms of the Nyingma school.

He died in 1884, on the third day of the second month of the wood-monkey year in the fifteenth sexagenary cycle. Khenpo Demchok Dorje (bde mchog rdo rje, b. 1898), who became a senior figure at Dzogchen Monastery, was recognized as his incarnation.